Semi-automatic means for assembling connector terminals on wires



, J. F. PHILLIPS SEMI-AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR ASSEMBLING March 1959 v ICONNECTOR TERMINALS 0N WIRES Filed Aug. 13, 1956 2 She ts-Sneet 1 Invgnzor James Ffhz March 10, 1959 J. F. PHILLIPS SEMI-AUTOMATIC MEANS FORASSEMBLING CONNECTOR TERMINALS 0N WIRES Filed Aug. 13, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent SEMI-AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR ASSEMBLINGCONNECTOR TERMINALS ON WIRES James F. Phillips, Philadelphia, Pa.,assignor to Ideal Industries, Inc., Sycamore, 111., a corporation ofDelaware Application August 13, 1956, Serial No. 603,540

9 Claims. (CI. 81-57) My invention is in the field of mechanism for automatically feeding and rotating wire connectors of the so-called pigtailor screw-on type. These connectors include a shell or cap normally witha tapered exterior and a generally central open bore having a threadedinterior to receive a coil or otherwise. This shell or cap can bescrewed down over the stripped ends of two or more wires to form a tighteflective connection.

My invention is in the nature of an automatic mechanism for feeding suchconnectors through a tube or the like constructed so that the strippedends of the wires may be merely inserted into the end of the tube and apower means actuated so that a connector will be automatically turneddown over the wires and the connection will be finished when the wiresare withdrawn.

A primary object of my invention is a new and improved automaticconnector runner or the like designed and constructed to automaticallyfeed screw-on type connectors to a connecting station.

Another object is a runner of the above type which may be manuallycontrolled at the connecting station.

Another object is an automatic connector feeding arrangement in whichscrew-on type pigtail connectors may be fed by a hopper mechanism.

Another object is a runner of the above type with means to prevent theconnector at the connecting station from being pushed back up into thetube.

Another object of my invention is an automatic runner of the above typeconstructed so that the connectors will not fall out.

Other objects will appear from time to time in the ensuing specificationand drawings in which:

Figure l is a side view, partly in section, of my automatic runner;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the connecting station;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but with the connector in adifierent position;

Figure 4 is a bottom end view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section along line 55 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a section, similar to Figure 2, of a variant form;

Figure 7 is a side view, partially in section, on an enlarged scale, ofa further variant; and

Figure 8 is a partial side view, in section, of still anothermodification.

In Figure 1 an elongated tube is indicated generally at 10. The tube maybe metallic and is preferably flexible. At its upper end the tube isconnected in any suitable manner to a support 12 which may include anelectric motor 14 as a power means adapted to drive the tube throughsuitable gearing 16 and 18, the gear 18 being mounted on the upper endof the tube through a suitable bushing or collar 20which is carried by asuitable hearing unit 22 in an opening in the housing.

A suitable hopper, not shown but constructed to feed screw-on typepigtail connectors, may be mounted in the housing. As shown, a feedtrough 24 from such a hopper'brings connectors-26 one at a time to theopen upper end 28 of the tube so that the connectors are aligned withtheir open end down. The connectors may be brought down through theflexible tube or conduit by gravity.

The end of the tube is shown as provided with a con necting station 30which includes upper and lower plates 32 and 34 or the like connectedtogether by a suitable number of screws 36 or otherwise and having analigned central passage or bore through which the flexible tube extends.

If the flexible tube is of a woven metallic material,

a short piece of solid metal tube 38 may be secured, by,

welding, brazing, or otherwise, to the flexible tube. This short pieceserves as a stop mechanism and is longitudinally slotted in a suitablenumber of places, as at 40, to divide it into segments. One or moreportions of the segments may be turned in, as at 42 in Figure 4, orslightly bent so as to obstruct the passage of the connectors. Thesetabs or bends formed by the slots are sufliciently flexible so that whenthe ends of the wires, shown at 44, are inserted in the end of the tubeand the connector is screwed down over the wires, the connector can beeasily pulled past the stops or abutments 42.

The two plates have a number of cavities, shown as four in this case.The cavities each include a circular recess 46 in the upper plate and asomewhat circular but offset or stepped recess 48 in the lower plate. Apawl or chuck jaw 50 is mounted in each cavity on a lateral pin 51 whichfunctions as an axis or pivot so that each jaw may rotate apredetermined amount. The inner end of each jaw has a step at 52 whichextends through a suitable slot 54 cut in the piece of pipe on the endof the flexible tube, The shoulder or flat surface 52 projects into thepath of the connectors so that the end of the connector will strike theshoulder on the jaw, as shown in Figure 3. The jaws are made of lightWeight material and can be easily pivoted. The connectors are of such aWeight, when stacked in the flexible tube, that they will easily rotatethe jaws out of the way as they move down and the bottom connector willalways arrive at and be stopped by the turned in abutments or fingers 42at the open end of the tube. The outer portion 56 of each pawl or jawserves as a counterweight so that when each connector has passed throughthe jaws, they will automatically rotate back to the position of Figure2. The connectors are tapered and may have longitudinal slots on theirouter surface, such as in U. S. Patent No. 1,460,624. The chuck jaws arequite thin and will fit into these longitudinal slots so that when theflexible tube is rotated by its power means, the jaws fitting into theslots will cause the connector to rotate. It should be noted that theupper and lower plates fit smoothly around the short piece of solidtubing 38 at the end of the flexible tube 10, and the plates may bebrazed or otherwise connected to this piece of tube if desired. Eachchuck jaw rotates until it hits the top of the slot 54 through the tube38 which positions it for the next connector.

A handle 58 in the form of a metallic tube or otherwise surrounds a partof the flexible tube 10 and some of the short metal tube 38 and rises asuitable distance above it. It may be held between the chuck mechanismand a suitable collar 60 on the tube. In fact, the solid tube or pipemay extend up through the handle with the collar 60 formed at or on itsupper end. The handle may carry a suitable button 62 or the like to stopand start the motor 14.

In Figure 6 I have shown a variant form and like parts are designated bythe same reference numerals except as indicated hereinbelow. Normally,connectors of the so-called pigtail or screw-on type have knurls orlongitudinal grooves on their outer surface, such as shown generally inU. S. Patent No. 2,749,384. The

Patented Mar. 10, 1959 dogs 50 in Figures 2 through 5 might be made thinenough, as shown in Figure 5, to fit into the grooves or flutes of suchconnectors. When the connector is forced back up into the conduit byinsertion of the partially stripped wires, as shown in Figure l, thedogs would fit into these grooves and, upon rotation of the chuck, theconnector will be turned down over the wires. However, in some cases itmight be preferable to only frictionally engage the connectors, and thismay be done by coating or forming the dogs of a material having thegeneral characteristics of rubber or the like. For example, in Figure 6the dog 64 may be considered to have either a rubber coating or acoating of a material of rubberlike consistency and characteristics, orthe dog itself may be considered to be made totally or partially of suchmaterial. In any case, when the connectors are forced back up in thetubing or pipe, the sides of the bottom connector will be frictionallyengaged by the projecting points 65 of such dogs. When the chuck isrotated, the frictional contact between the dogs and the lowermostconnector will be adequate to impart rotation to the connector.

Instead of using turned in portions 32, as in Figure 4, as the detentfor releasably holding the lowermost connector, I may use spring pressedbalis. For example, in Figure 7 such balls 66 with springs 68 may bemounted in a tubular piece 7% which forms an extension of the chuck. Asshown, one end of each spring is mounted in a suitable socket 72 and theother end holds a ball. In Figure 7 it will be apparent that four suchspring pressed balls may be used, however, more or less might beemployed. The point is that any releasable detenting means might beused, and I find it preferable to use the bent portions 42 in Figure 3in the interest of economy.

In the variant form shown schematically in Figure 8,

I employ a microswitch 74 suitably pivoted at 76 in the tube 38. Insteadof using a manually operated switch, such as at 62 in Figure 1, I mayprovide a microswitch or the like so that when the stripped ends of thewires, such as at 44 in Figure l, are inserted in the lower end of thechuck, forcing the column of connectors up a slight amount, one of theconnectors, preferably the lowest one in the column, wil contact theswitch and close the contacts so that the motor 14 in Figure 1 would beautomatially energized. Thus, the operator would merely have to insertthe wires and the motor would be automatically energized. For purposesof clarity, in Figure 8, I have not shown a handle corresponding to thehandle 58 in Figure l.

The use, operation and function of my invention are as follows:

I provide an automatic connector runner constructed to feed screw-ontype pigtail connectors through a tube or the like, preferably flexible.Connectors of this general type are shown in U. S. Patent No. 1,678,752in which an insulating shell surrounds a coil spring insert. Or theinvention might be used with a connector of the type shown generally inU. S. Patent No. 2,749,384 in which the insulating shell itself directlyengages the stripped ends of the wires and the coil spring insert is notused. A connector, such as shown in this last patent, is made or moldedentirely of plastic. The stripped ends of a plurality of wires to beconnected may be inserted into the open end. The power means is thenenergized which automatically rotates the connector down over the wires.When the power means is shut off, the wire can be pulled out which willdraw the connector through the stop mechanism at the end of the tube.

While I have said that the tube is flexible, it could be solid. Thesurface of the pawls might be serrated or otherwise formed to grip theconnectors. Also, the handle mechanism is not vital and the mechanismcould be permanently mounted with the electric switch 62 at any suitablelocation. Some of the important pointsare that the connectors will notfall out of the end of the tube. Also, when the tube is rotated, theconnectors are automatically rotated. Furthermore, when'the operatorforces the stripped ends of the wires up into the tube, he cannnot pushthe connectors up because they will not pass through the dogs or pawlswhich have rotated back to the position of Figure 2.

The mechanism automatically presents and rotates one connector afteranother. The operator is not required to handle each connector. Hemerely inserts the wires into the end of the tube and energizes themotor. Thereafter, he withdraws the wire with a connector fully turneddown on them. He is not required to handle the connectors and he doesnot turn them down over the wires manually.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of my invention andsuggested various modifications, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and changes can be made without departing from thefundamental theme of the invention. 1, therefore, wish the invention beunrestricted except as by the appended claims.

For example, the edges of the pawls or jaws could be coated with rubberor any other suitable non-slip material. Or the pawls may be made ofsuch material such as in Figure 6. Additionally, the power for rotatingthe connector could be turned on by the slight rearward movement of theconnector in the tube when the wires are inserted. For example, amicroswitch could be suitably positioned in the tube 38 such as inFigure 8. The bent portions 42 might be spring pressed balls orotherwise such as in Figure 7. The connectors might be shaped other thanshown in the drawings. For example, the connector might be hour-glassshaped to fit a particular type of dog or pawl. The grooves on theconnectors outer surface might be spiral.

I claim:

1. In a device for automatically feeding and rotating cap type wireconnectors of the screw-on open ended variety, an elongated tube adaptedto receive connectors at one end and to discharge them at the other,means at the said one end of the tube for supplying connectors to it, aconnecting station at the other end of the tube, a stop mechanism at theconnecting station adapted to prevent the connectors from falling outbut constructed to allow each connector to be manually pulled out whenit has been turned down over the stripped end of the wires, and detentmeans at the connecting station bath for preventing a connector frombeing pushed back up out of the connecting station and for rotating theconnector in the connecting station.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the tube'is rotatable, and said lastmentioned means includes a power means for rotating the tube to rotatethe connector at the connecting station.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which the tube is flexible.

4. The structure of claim 3 characterized by and including a handle onthe tube at the connecting station, the handle being freely rotatablerelative to the tube so that when the tube is rotated to screw theconnector on the stripped ends of the wires, the handle can be heldstationary.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which the detent means includes aplurality of equally spaced, laterally pivoted, counterweighted chuckjaws, the jaws as a group including means to prevent the connector inthe connecting station from being pushed back up in the tube and also tobear against the tapered sides of the connector in the connectingstation so that when the tube is rotated, the chuck jaws will cause theconnector in the connecting station to rotate. &

6. The structure of claim 5 characterized by and including a manuallyoperable switch on the handle so that the powermeans rotating the tubeis controlled at the handle.

7. In a device for automatically feeding and rotating a pigtail typewire connector of the screw-on open ended type, an elongated tubeadapted to receive such connectors at one end and to discharge them atthe other, a connecting station at the said other end of the tube, astop mechanism at the connecting station adapted to prevent theconnectors from falling out of the connecting station, but constructedto allow each connector to be manually pulled out when it has beenturned down over the stripped ends of the wires, and means at theconnecting station separate and spaced from the stop mechanism for bothpreventing a connector from being pushed back up out of the connectingstation and also for rotating the connector in the connecting station.

8. The structure of claim 7 wherein said last mentioned means includes aplurality of peripherally spaced, freely pivoted, counterweighted chuckjaws.

9. In a device for automatically feeding and rotating a wire connectorof the screw-on open ended type, a tube adapted to receive suchconnectors at one end and to discharge them at the other end, aconnecting station at the said other end of the tube, a stop mechanismat the connecting station constructed to prevent the connectors fromunauthorizedly falling out of the connecting station,

6 but constructed to allow each connector to be pulled out when it hasbeen turned down over the stripped ends of the wires, means at theconnecting station separate and spaced from the stop mechanism forpreventing connectors from being forced back out of the connectingstation but allowing connectors to move therethrough in one direction,and an interlock at the connecting station separate from the stopmechanism for rotating the connector to screw it down on the strippedends of the wires.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,369,894 Jones Mar. 1, 1921 2,256,012 Blair Sept. 16, 1941 2,534,140Moore Dec. 12, 1950 2,607,252 Shafi Aug. 19, 1952 2,657,721 Shaft Nov.3, 1953 2,704,952 Mooter Mar. 29, 1955 2,705,896 Holmes Apr. 12, 1955FOREIGN PATENTS 13,011 Great Britain of 1905

